


Sing Your Melody, I'll Sing Along

by Narcis_The_Monk



Series: Prompts and Gifts (And sometimes both at the same time) [1]
Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Eden's Gate Cult, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Soulmate AU, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24797149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narcis_The_Monk/pseuds/Narcis_The_Monk
Summary: In a world where soulmates can speak to each other in their dreams, Sharky Boshaw struggles to accept that he may have met his. But as the realization sets in, it turns his world upside down in the best sort of way.
Relationships: Sharky Boshaw/John Seed
Series: Prompts and Gifts (And sometimes both at the same time) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1793563
Comments: 13
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chyrstis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chyrstis/gifts).



> For an absolute sweetheart that only deserves the best things in life. <3

Sharky Boshaw knew about soulmates. Well, he sorta knew about soulmates. They were like urban legends. Everyone knew someone who knew someone that had met their soulmate, but you never knew someone immediately. And so he mostly wrote them off; they were like bigfoot, not impossible, just very rare. So yeah, of course he’d written them off. Plus, not a lot of good things happen to him in his life so that definitely wouldn’t happen to him. 

Instead what he gets is vague self-loathing, a lot of self-esteem issues, and very little room to grow. In general, he liked his life in quiet Hope County Montana. It was full of nice people, even if most folks didn't get him. He had his own house, his own land, and he knew enough basics to take care of himself. And he shuffled through life mostly happy, if not a little lonely. But a few beers or a couple joints usually drowned that feeling right out. 

Which is what he was doing tonight. He had had to go do some day work for his aunt and he had come home exhausted, but his mind wouldn't turn off so he'd come home and headed straight to the fridge. He pulled a six pack out and headed to the living room to pop in one of the Fast and Furious movies, and he sat down to drink. 

It honestly didn’t take long to pass out. At first he didn’t even realize he had. He was still sitting on the couch, a beer still in his hand and the movie still playing. After a while he realized that the plot was vastly different than he remembered, and he decided to stand and go to his kitchen for some food. But when he turned around, his kitchen was missing. He looked up and saw it on the ceiling. _’Ah, okay. I get it now, I’m asleep. That’s cool. I’m suddenly not hungry now so that’s good.’_

He found he didn’t really like this dream as he settled back on the couch, focusing on the ceiling. He had inherited this house. He found he preferred to spend his time outside of it. There were a lot of not so great memories in it he was trying to remove as he slowly modified things to make it his own. It was exhausting in a lot of ways, really. But finally he was tired of just laying around even in his sleep and he pushed himself off the couch to stand again. 

This time he walked to his front door. When he opened it, it was just a void of stars. There were no shadows, no lights, just empty space a step outside his door. He knew this was a dream but he immediately felt like outside was not an option. He shut the door and spun around, to find the back wall of his living room had evaporated and his room was now merged with a new room. This one was classy, finely decorated with antiques, and impeccably clean. It was all dark woods and blues, red things scattered around as accents. He could see pictures on the walls, but they all looked like paintings or professionally done shots. Not a single one wasn’t posed perfectly, and that was interesting. Something he could relate to. Maybe he was peeking into his own psyche here, some part of himself he didn’t realize he had.

Right as he was considering what it could mean--he had no clue, he didn’t understand how people took meaning from dreams when they were all nonsense--he turned his attention from a large abstract painting to a movement he caught in the corner of his eye. There was a person in the new room now, a man he didn’t recognize. Confusion seeped into him slowly the longer he stared at the other, who was now looking at him too, for a lot of reasons.

For one, the man looked like his exact opposite. He was well groomed in a blue button up shirt that was partially undone down the front with the sleeves rolled up. He could see the edges of a few tattoos on the other’s chest peeking out from under the crisp fabric, and he felt this twitch in his fingertips like he wanted to touch the ink under his skin _’Don’t be weird, Sharky.’_ His hair was slicked back and dark brown and he could see the blue of the other’s eyes from here. Speaking of eyes he felt the other’s eyes travelling over him before he saw the action and he looked down at his own oil and paint stained jeans and the dirty wife beater he’d had on under his hoodie that’d he’d pulled off due to the alcohol and he suddenly felt self-conscious. But he was definitely attracted to him. His brain had summoned his definite dream guy he hadn’t even realized he had.

“Who are you?” The silence was broken when his guest spoke, and he froze. His voice felt like cool water trailing down his spine and fire burning in his gut; exhilarating with a rush of something like adrenaline chasing it shortly afterwards. He kinda liked it. _’Huh. Learning new stuff about myself tonight.’_ He was lost in just staring at the other for a while until the stranger smiled at him and he ducked his head in embarrassment. 

“Charlemagne Victor Boshaw the uh…the Fourth. But uh, call me Sharky.” He stumbled through his words, sheepishly allowing himself to look up again. He found the other was closer now and he may have taken a step closer himself when he wasn’t paying attention.

“Sharky huh? That’s cute.” The other spoke again and it sent a shiver down his spine. As he got closer he realized he was the taller of the two, but the other definitely seemed to tower over him regardless. “But Charlemagne does roll off the tongue. You should use it more. I’m John.”

“You look like a John.” Sharky responded as he started to offer his hand to the other before backtracking. “I mean, you look like you’re all put together. You uh, you look good.” 

He held his hand out completely and the other took it, shaking it as he spoke. “I didn’t find any kind of offense there. But good to know you think I look good.” He faltered again and looked up to see John smirking at him and he suddenly couldn’t let go of his hand. This was a dream, wasn’t it? He could get away with flirting here and not have to worry about rejection.

“Well, if we’re being real fucking honest right now good isn’t the right word.” Sharky was testing the water now as he tried stepping closer. John didn’t back away and he continued speaking as he looked down into the other’s blue eyes. “I’d say more like...amazing. What with your eyes you could just swim in for days.” 

“Trying to flatter me will get you everywhere.” The other stepped forward and Sharky knew if he took a breath, they would touch with the simple action. He was enjoying the confidence that was suddenly swelling within him. This was a first and he was exploring it to its fullest.

“Oh yeah? Well how about this?” Sharky spoke in a hushed tone as he leaned into the other. He caught his lips as he wrapped his hands around the other’s waist to pull him in against him. 

When he felt John’s hands slide up and into his hair, he groaned softly and tugged him in tighter against him. John responded by pulling his hair harder and he opened his mouth quickly. He may not have hooked up with a lot of people in his lifetime, but he’d damned sure kissed a lot of people and he was good at it. One of his hands lifted to hold John’s jaw, and he was briefly surprised by how real his beard felt under his fingers but the thought was lost as soon as he felt his tongue travelling along his teeth. For now he let himself get lost in just making out with someone.

But John’s hands had moved again, and slipped up his shirt. He felt the warmth they carried under the smooth, uncalloused skin sliding up his stomach and he flinched briefly. This was supposed to be a dream. How come he could feel everything? He pulled at the other’s shirt and he knew the fabric under his hands was expensive. Again he felt a little self-conscious about the threadbare material John had his hands under. Then he felt his hands slide around to his back and his nails dragged slowly along his skin and he was gasping into his mouth in another flash of ecstasy. 

They finally broke apart and John’s mouth was travelling down his neck now, leaving kisses and bite marks both in his wake. He stopped briefly to pant against his skin with his head on his shoulder. “I have college in the morning so at least I can have some fun before I wake up, right?”

“That’s true. I got work, so thank God for this. I could use the stress relief.” Sharky answered immediately and wondered briefly why his dream guy would have college. That seemed like a strange detail for his brain to conjure. But maybe he was just attracted to someone smarter than him so someone had logic to balance out his own lack thereof. 

Then John tugged his wife beater off over his head and picked up where he left off, mouth travelling down his chest and stomach while his hands worked at his belt. He didn’t remember much after John wrapped his mouth around him because that’s when he woke up with a loud gasp and an incredibly embarrassing hard on.

He had felt that and it had startled him awake. He had felt so much. That wasn’t a normal dream. There’s no way it could be. He’d had dreams before, of course he had, and he had never felt anything in a single one of them before that one. He’d stood in fire and hadn’t burned, fallen from buildings and broken no bones, jumped from high mountains and flown but felt no wind or cold. Things weren’t adding up. 

He thought about everything that had happened with confusion, a bit of concern, and a large amount of frustration. And there was a flash of fear that maybe this was a dream that meant something. Maybe this was his moment and he had just seen his soulmate. But doubt snuffed that spark of hope quickly and it withered and faded away like smoke in the breeze. 

He sighed heavily and stood up, turning everything off and locking up before he headed to his room and crawled under his blankets with heavy limbs. He was so exhausted despite having just slept and he figured he just needed to sleep longer.

It didn’t take long after the lights went out that he felt sleep pulling him under again into its dark velvet embrace and he welcomed it with open arms. But there were no more dreams for the rest of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Two whole years. It took two whole years before it happened again. It happened after another rough day; he’d been working again, this time for his uncle. He’d mostly done it for his cousin’s sake as he was out of the country right now and he knew Hurk woulda asked him to help out. 

Uncle Hurk was always an asshole but since Sharky had come out last year as something less than straight--he didn’t have the right word for it yet--his uncle had become a raging jackass of bigger proportions. And so he’d put up with a lot of comments anytime he had been within earshot but that fat bastard shut up anytime he said he’d leave cause there was no one else who would do the work for him in all the county.

And if he was being truly honest with himself, part of him had done it purely for the money. Just a slim part of him could put aside his pride and dignity for what it took to keep surviving. And when he had gotten paid, he found himself some weed and went home to roll a fat couple of joints and climb up onto his roof to smoke and look at the stars and overall just forget the rest of the world existed for a little while. 

Almost immediately after he’d finished the second joint and put it out, he’d laid back and fell straight into an oddly content sleep on the cold scratchy shingles of his roof. When he opened his eyes again he was in his living room again, the kitchen once again on the ceiling but this time so was the couch. It seemed brighter in this fake place this time around and he turned expectantly to find that the other living room had joined his again. It had changed a little. Paintings were tilted, the flowers in those ornate red pots were wilted, and he could see a smashed lamp in the far corner. There were new bookcases that were filled too. He wasn’t sure what the changes indicated, but he suddenly felt a little worry well up in him that he couldn’t explain.

He found himself investigating things now. He could step across the divide of shag carpet to hardwood floors, and he moved through the other’s side of the room to look at the paintings. He walked along the bookcases and read the titles, realizing most of them were law books. _’Said he had college. Guess he’s trying to become a lawyer.’_ He swelled briefly with pride, and he kept looking until his eyes fell onto something out of place and he moved towards it. 

He reached for it and picked it up, finding it to be a framed photo that had been turned face down. It was a family--a mother, father, and what was clearly a teenage John with his graduation cap. Who he assumed to be his father stood in the center, his hand resting on his wife’s shoulder. John seemed to be smiling not from the moment but for the camera and he stood to the side of his parents just a hair out of his father’s reach as he held up his diploma up between them. Something about it made him feel a little sad and he wasn’t sure why. He must be picking up on something he didn’t really understand on an instinctual level. He sat it back down the way he found it and stepped back.

“It's strange how I can’t seem to escape here even in my dreams. But your home…” John’s sudden voice made him jolt and he turned to look at him with barely suppressed excitement. He tried to remind himself he didn’t really know this man, and getting this excited was dangerous for his emotions. The other was standing on his side of the living room, looking at his shelves full of knick knacks, games, and movies that were scattered about. He knew there were notes, pipes, lighters, and empty cigarette packs thrown about the coffee table. His blanket on the couch was his thick ass comforter from his bed and about five pillows, still disheveled from earlier in the afternoon. “Your home looks lived in. It looks real. Well, despite the whole of your kitchen being on the ceiling and literally nothing else.” 

“Yeah, I don’t know what that’s about.” Sharky responded as he walked towards John slowly. “I don’t really like my home either. It's run down, needs a lot of repairs, and it just...reminds me of some shit I don’t really like thinking about. But it's mine. I spend a lot of time outside though. I don’t like hiking much, but just chilling outside by a bonfire is my shit.”

“I like flying. It's been a little bit since I’ve had time, and there’s...other things keeping me from flying. But being up in the air is like being in another world--flying above everyone and seeing things they never will on the ground with their heads in the sand.” His words were unexpectedly soft and it made him smile as he finally stopped beside him. John turned his full attention to him with that same smile. “Do you live in the country?”

“Rural Montana. It's quiet here. Pretty. Ain’t really been nowhere else and I guess I don’t ever really care if I do.” He was surprised by how honest he sounded even to himself. “You?”

“Oh, no. I’m a city boy through and through. I’m not sure I could really handle myself if I couldn’t just drive to the store if I was missing something for a recipe. Or, you know, just generally be away from dirt. And bugs.” There was laughter in his voice and it seemed to match his eyes and he thought it was a beautiful sight. 

“You cook?” He asked, and the other laughed.

“I dabble.” He stated, acting humble but Sharky bet he was pretty damn good. _’Just a hunch.’_

“I’m more of a frozen pizza guy. Easy, fast, bad for you...that’s my jam. I’d be a big fan of delivery if it was a more common thing out here.” He admitted before reaching a hand out to experimentally touch his arm. When John didn’t pull away, he slid his hand up to his shoulder and smiled when he leaned into the touch. 

“You’re less drunk this time.” John noted and he nodded, a little embarrassed really. That had been another abnormality that he had been hung up on before like how strong sensations had been. He didn’t usually remain impaired in his dreams.

Instead, he replied sheepishly with a small confession. “Yeah, this time I smoked weed.”

“My kind of man.” It earned him a hearty laugh, and he slipped his other hand around his waist. He couldn’t seem to stop himself from reaching for the other. Would it be like that every single time? He hoped so. He liked the butterflies climbing around in his lungs when he did it.

“Glad to hear. I may be trying to impress you.” He murmured quietly as he finally settled with his arms wrapped almost protectively around his companion.

“You’ve left some sort of impression. I haven’t forgotten you for a moment.” John answered with his face against his chest and his arms wrapped snugly around his shoulders. A perfect fit. “You’re a _very_ good kisser, Charlemagne.” What the hell are these feelings? Isn’t this too soon? Wasn’t it pathetic he might be falling for what may be his own damn imagination? He didn’t really care right now. John had said he was a good kisser and he was far too busy beaming with pride.

“Now that’s a compliment I’ll take.” He leaned to whisper it into John’s ear, and he felt his smile against his neck. 

“Good. I’ll try to give you more.” They were using hushed tones, more intimate ones. It was vastly different than last time and he was enjoying the variation so far. 

“Be careful now, you might spoil me.” Sharky teased him, nipping at his earlobe with another curious test. He felt the tough skin beneath his teeth and felt the other gasp against his neck in response. Okay, maybe now he was smiling wider. If he smiled any bigger he wouldn’t be able to stop the giggles. _’Reel that shit back in, Sharky. Don’t. Be. Weird.’_

But John was quick to return the gesture, kissing at the base of his throat and making his breath catch in his chest while his heart pounded away. “Maybe that’s the point. Maybe I just want to spoil you.”

“I’ll have to figure out what to do for you then.” He meant that too. He’d figure out how to return any action, any affection, anything John gave him. And he would do whatever he could to make him smile and laugh. He liked it so much when the other did either of those, it was like a completely different high.

John leaned back and pretended to ponder for just a second before grinning up at him. “How about you kiss me?”

He didn’t need much convincing but he pretended to really think it over, complete with head tilts and silent nods. “Yeah. I think I can do that.”

“Please do.” It was such a genuine request he couldn’t deny it, not even in jest. He leaned down and kissed him, and this kiss was just as different as everything else had been so far. It was soft, passionate, and he was drowning in John almost immediately. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t blink, or he’d lose this moment and miss out on a rare good memory he could keep to himself for ages.

They stayed like that for a while, before he pulled back and smiled a goofy smile at John. “Wow.”

“Yeah…” John answered, but he started to fade away with the dream suddenly and he felt soft drops of water on his cheeks. He snapped out of it and sat up as a light rain started sprinkling across his skin. He was left in frustration yet again, but as he gathered his things it started to really pour down and he was glad he woke up when he did. That would have been alarming to say the least. It made getting off his roof a whole new adventure, and he was thankful to be out of the weather as he burst through his front door.

He headed straight to the shower to both clean up and warm up, occasionally smiling that same dumbass smile when he remembered what had happened in his sleep.

He wasn’t entirely sure what was happening but he knew he wasn’t about to let it go. Even if it was all in his head. Who would it hurt?


	3. Chapter 3

The next dream took years. He counted the days on calendars he couldn’t bring himself to throw away. He had only met John twice in two years, but he missed him. He missed him so much it hurt and every day he woke up without another shared dream he felt like his heart was breaking more. But he continued on with life. And it was slow, every day the same. 

He would get up, eat something, and get ready. He either worked for his uncle, or his aunt. Sometimes his aunt found him other day labor around the county, and he appreciated those jobs more. It meant something new in a week, it shook things up. After work, he’d come home and eat something, watch an old movie, and on the weekends he drank. Sometimes his cousin came home and he could really let the rest of the world fall away as they drank and smoked while Hurk told him stories about the rest of the world. 

Mostly he kept surviving. He kept going. He didn’t have a choice. But after the third year passed he couldn’t help but start to wonder...had he done something wrong?

It was a constant thought in the back of his mind in every day that passed since the thought’s first appearance. He had done something wrong. He had to have. He’d be sweeping Aunt Addy’s shop, and he’d suddenly be consumed with worry. He’d done something wrong, said something. Had he offended John? Had that somehow broken their connection? He knew it took him a while to truly believe in it, that John was in fact his soulmate, but this ache in his being told him he *had to be*, there was no other reason for him to be this broken up about a relative stranger. He’d snap out of it and finish up his task, get paid, and go home. His aunt eyed him warily. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was concerned about him. No one cared enough to worry about him though, he was sure she was just worried he wouldn’t be able to work the next day. So he’d offer a lazy smile and leave.

Once he’d get home, the next stage of that anxiety would hit him again. Maybe...maybe he hadn’t believed fast enough. Maybe he hadn’t put faith in their destined bond soon enough, and it had dried up like an old well. Maybe he missed his chance to find his one true love, the person who would understand him like no other ever could. Maybe he had screwed everything up like he did everything else he did in his life. He drove his father to drugs by existing, he drove his mother to drink with his bullshit. They had no other reason to until he came into the world, and then they drove their lives into the ground and left him alone. Maybe his touch had tainted John and the same thing had happened to him. Nothing had proven him wrong yet. He’d snap out of the thoughts again, eat, and crawl into bed to sleep another dreamless sleep. All his dreams had stopped in John’s absence.

After he’d exhausted himself with guilt and fully hated himself, he sank into worry and drained himself that way in a day. In the middle of cooking dinner, he’d just worry. 

Was he okay? What if he was hurt? Was he in the hospital? Or worse, what if he was dead? He’d start concocting wild scenarios after that. He’d fallen down the stairs at his school and broke his neck. He’d been hit by a drunk driver. He’d gotten hooked on drugs, gotten in a car accident, and he was in a coma. He’d snap out of it when he smelled his food burning and he’d salvage what he could and eat it anyway as he continued to just think.

His anxiety grew until it consumed him, and he really had no one to turn to in his life to talk about it. He wasn’t comfortable enough with his aunt, his uncle was never an option, and Hurk was home so little he didn’t want to burden him and make him feel like he needed to stay home. He wanted the other to keep traveling, didn’t want to tie him down with his problems. That wouldn’t do either of them good.

He was...well, he was miserable. He started praying when he went to sleep. For John, for closure, for a dream of any sort. He wasn’t sure it would do any good but he had nothing else left. It was the only way he could hold onto hope for now. All he could do was wait and see...and hope.

So he waited.


	4. Chapter 4

Four years later, Sharky came home extra pissed off. He had worked for his uncle today. He was campaigning for...something. He had tuned him out at some point, after he had launched into a rant about the gays. He never thought he could hate someone before but he understood the feeling now. Now that he had allowed himself to get to that boiling point in his anger. That man was a toxic cesspool. He was going to stop working for him. When he could afford to. And that realization had set him off again on the drive home. So upon arriving home, he showered, ate, and smoked another joint as he stared heatedly up at his ceiling. 

He was pretty sure he fell asleep as soon as he put the roach out in the ashtray. But when he saw the ceiling above him again when he woke, his eyes trailed further back and he saw his kitchen. It was...it was on the ceiling. 

_'Holy shit! He's back!'_ He bolted upright and scrambled off the couch gracelessly, stumbling to his feet to look over at the merged rooms.

His heart stopped as he looked at the destruction awaiting him as he walked over. Paintings were ripped to shreds, words carved in the wooden paneling that made his heart hurt, and glass was broken and scattered across the ground like birdseed--small and sharp as the shards crunched under his shoes. _’What the fuck happened?’_ He moved around quickly, taking in the bookshelf with its broken shelves and books losing their pages littered at the base of it. The plants were all dry and brittle and he bet if he touched one it would break down into dust like in a cartoon.

“Charlemagne?” 

It was just a whisper really and it didn’t sound like John--soft and trembling and so unsure his heart seized with a sadness so deep. He never knew the sound of his name could hurt him, and he spun around to find John standing on his side of the room. He didn’t have to tell his body to move this time and he practically ran across the room and threw his arms tightly around him. He held him to him as tightly as he could and he almost melted when he felt the other cling to his hoodie with just as tight of a grip.

“Jesus H. Christ with a side of holy hand grenades, you fucking scared me shitless John. I didn’t think it would be so long, I thought I’d done something...are-are you okay? Are you hurt?” He was speaking lowly as he slid his hands just under his shirt. 

“No. Yes. It’s a long story.” John responded slowly at first, his voice almost muffled entirely from where he had it pressed against the crook of his neck.

“How about you try me?” Sharky pulled away just enough to look down into his blue eyes.

He looked away briefly, sighing as he looked sheepish. “I was...I was high. I got stupid and I overdosed. I’m in rehab, just out of the hospital and recovered enough to get shipped out of the facility.” He paused briefly, frowning before giving a short bitter laugh. “Okay, maybe not that long. It felt long.”

Sharky stared at him with open dismay and concern. So much had happened and there were still questions floating around in his head. How long had he been using? How much of three years were lost to drugs, how much of it was the hospital or rehab--and more importantly, how John _felt_ about it all. He knew how heavy thoughts and unchecked feelings could get. 

He knew it for sure then. He knew it from the way every muscle relaxed the moment John was in his arms. They were soulmates. They were, and he wasn’t about to let him go again. He would figure this out. “Did’ya know we were soulmates this whole time?” He blurted out the question and his felt his cheeks blaze to life and he ducked his eyes briefly before steeling his nerves and meeting the other’s gaze once again. 

“I kind of figured but...had to be sure first.” John replied with a feathery soft tone, like cotton filled his chest and the air had been snatched from his lungs with the confession. Yet he still had the strength to joke. _’Charming motherfucker.’_

“I hope this isn’t weird but...I’d like to get to know you.” He was awkwardly stammering for the moment, not sure how to express the need to ask the other about his entire life.

John simply laughed quietly, a tired smirk tugging at his lips. “Would it be weird that the person tied to my literal soul wanted to get to know me?” He pondered for a moment before shaking his head and leveling his gaze. “I don’t suppose it’s any more weird than the concept of me having a soul in the first place.” 

He smiled a wide, goofy smile before kissing the other’s forehead swiftly. “I ever tell you I like the way you make words sound?” 

Another laugh was earned, and he glowed with pride. “That’s...a new one. But I adore that you shared it.” 

He would lead the other to his couch but it was on the ceiling right now. Instead he led him over to to where the couch should be, settling down on the shag carpet and pulling John down into his lap and into his arms again. “So, at the risk of sounding like a highschooler, wanna play a game?”

“Is it seven minutes in heaven?” John grinned as he winked, and this time Sharky gave a laugh.

“We don’t need that. I’ll kiss you whenever you want. No, I mean Truth.” He hadn’t played it before because it required friends but he’d heard of it. Maybe it would take the pressure off him at basically interrogating the other.

“Hmmm….sure.” The other gave a shrug before resting his head on his shoulder once more.

“We just ask each other questions and answer honestly. Keep doing it til one of us refuses.” He explained the game before giving a short laugh. “Now that I think of it, it's like a game of chicken. But it sounds like a good place to start, instead of just making out all the time.”

“I like the making out but you have a point...all I know about you is that your name is Charlemagne but you go by Sharky, you live in rural Montana, and you’re an amazing kisser.” He nodded thoughtfully before moving out of his lap to curl up beside him under his arm instead. “Alright, I’m ready. You start.”

His mind blanked suddenly, and he couldn’t think of anything. He felt like an idiot when he choked out the question. “What’s your favorite color?” 

“Also at the risk of sounding like a highschooler...lame.” John laughed softly and kissed his cheek. “But the answer’s blue.”

“Mine’s green.” Sharky responded, ducking his head to steal a kiss of his own. 

They continued like that for hours, exchanging questions and answers until they couldn’t keep track of who’s turn it actually was. 

They learned Sharky’s favorite kind of music was disco and a bit of rap and John preferred metal and hard rock. That if they could each control an element, they’d both pick fire. Sharky didn’t have many hobbies but John built model planes and had recently started writing poetry. If John had a magic power it would be to fly, meanwhile Sharky’s would be to teleport. John considered his biggest flaws to be his pride and his anger that was quick to spark like a cold fury that flashed into roaring flames easily, while his biggest perk was his intelligence--even high off his ass, he could grasp abstract concepts and understand them and that made him a fast learner. Sharky considered his biggest flaws to be his anxiety and his lack of a backbone ninety percent of the time and that let him be a bit of a door mat. But his biggest perk was his loyalty--he would walk to the ends of the earth for the people he trusted. The one thing John couldn’t live without is his plane--he’d sell everything else he owned before he sold it if it meant it kept him from being grounded. Sharky explained he couldn’t live without a hoodie of any kind on--it made him antsy to be without the comfort of its warmth enveloping him.

And both of them agreed the perfect home had to be with the other. A ranch house with air space not too far from civilization of some sort and a firepit on the deck. They’d spend nights curled up against each other under a blanket in front of the fire, looking up at the stars and listening to the crickets as they exchanged stories. And they’d never be cold as long as they had each other.

They fell asleep curled up like they had described, each warm and comfortable for the first time in years. Sharky woke up rested and this time, he hadn’t felt robbed by the action of waking. He knew where John had been. He knew he was safe now. He knew they both knew what their tie was and that neither of them wanted to sever it. 

He could actually say he knew what love felt like and he was hooked instantly.


	5. Chapter 5

The change in his mood in the waking world vastly changed. So much so that his aunt looked at him sideways a lot more in the day. He wondered what she was thinking. The most he knew was that she was worried. She didn’t know how to say she was so she would check on him more. Not necessarily ask how he was doing, just show up with food or cigarettes and sometimes it was beer or weed. She just shoved things at him, hoping something would help because she doesn’t like to talk about feelings. He didn’t either so he didn’t mind. 

He appreciated that she was checking on him, though he felt vaguely insulted that it was a sudden uplift in his attitude that had her worried enough to do so. He wondered what that said about him when he was always trying to come off as upbeat but being chipper caught the world so off guard. He didn’t really care though, honestly. No, he knew what was up. John was okay. He was his soulmate, and he was okay. Or rather, taking steps towards being okay but he was so much better than all the terrible things he had imagined led him to believe. He’d take that over the anxiety of being in the dark any day.

Plus, John felt the same way. He felt the connection too, and it was just as strong and that was all he needed. It did lead him to taking more naps though. Any chance he got, really. And while they didn’t give him full on dreams he was now catching glimpses of John. He’d hear his voice for a moment or two and he’d wake again smiling like he’d just taken the biggest drag off the best weed he’d ever had. Okay yeah, he saw was Aunt Addie was worried. He probably looked like a crackhead. 

But his first dream with John again after a few months was perfect. He went to sleep in his bed for the first time in...well years, if he was being honest. He normally passed out on the couch watching TV but he didn’t want any distractions tonight. He’d gone in hopeful, and for once he’d been graced with good fortune. He saw John standing across the way from him and he was running to close the short gap again and he was happy to see the other was doing the same.

Arms wrapped around him as he pulled the other against him, and for the first few minutes it was them just holding each other. He liked these moments of just existing with him the most. He was slowly getting over the buzzing nerves he felt in his stomach as they talked more. The other never once gave an indicator he was judging him and it was a weight lifted he hadn’t really realized he had. He knew talking to people made him nervous and he knew his habit of word vomiting was a bigger stressor but he didn’t realize he could look for the positive things others were doing. John had a habit of actively showing he was listening and he took great lengths to take an interest when Sharky got excited. He wouldn’t have looked for that naturally, before the other had taught him to without knowing it. He’d have to employ that in the waking world.

It was a while before the comfortable quiet was broken, this time by John first. It was amazing how the other could get him to shut up so easily when no one else could. “So...I have news. Big news. A lot of big news, actually. A lot has happened.”

“Oh yeah? How about we get comfortable and you tell me all about it?” He was happy to listen to the other’s news, and this time the couch remained on the floor. He held onto the other’s hand as he led him along to the couch, pulling the blanket draped across the back around them as John settled in against his side. “So what all has happened?”

John waited until his arm was wrapped around him again before finally speaking. “I’m out of rehab and that’s going...well, I suppose. But bigger news is my brother wrote to me.” 

Admittedly that stumped him for a moment. That didn’t seem necessarily abnormal. “I mean...why wouldn’t he?”

“I didn’t know he existed. Well, that’s not true. There was an instinct, some feeling deep inside of me that I had family aside from the Duncans.” As he explained he thought back to the photos on the walls before, staged and unnatural. He didn’t see any siblings. He didn’t see any similarities at all really. “I was adopted.” It was obvious in retrospect but he nodded in understanding. 

“Life makes sense again.” Now seemed like the time for a joke, and he earned a soft laugh from the other. “Alright, so, he found you. Are you excited?”

“Kind of.” John shifted now, slowly moving Sharky so he could lay against his chest with his arms wrapped snugly around his waist. “I’m also hesitant. What if...what if I’m not good enough?”

“What, the big shot lawyer--not good enough?” He had snorted and John clung to him a little tighter before he continued on.

“The drug addict that crashed his car into a tree for no viable reason--not good enough? I can’t imagine why he would be.” His voice was quiet and soft, and Sharky lifted his hands to run his fingers softly through his hair as he thought of what to say.

“You’re looking at the negatives. Man, he reached out to you. He wants you in his life and he doesn’t know jack shit about you. I’d say that means you’re enough in his eyes. Now you just gotta be enough in your eyes.” He kept his voice even, trying to give the other soft affections to ease his nerves as he spoke. He felt the other slowly relaxing as his muscles lost their tension. He wasn’t sure which part was helping. “That probably doesn’t make sense.”

“No, it does.” John turned his head, pressing a light kiss to his arm. It brought a smile bubbling to his lips in an instant. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” He smiled as he settled back, folding his legs around the other as they adjusted to each other with a surprising ease. “So have you written him back?”

“Yes. We’ve been exchanging letters for a while now.” He hummed quietly. “He says he’s found our oldest brother and our sister too. It’s strange to know I have family I know nothing about.”

“But do you want to know them?” It seemed the right question to ask, and John was quick to answer.

“Yes. I know I do. It’ll be hard, but I do need a support system. My parents died before all this happened, thank God.” He sounded bitter when he spoke about them, and the term ‘parents’ was said with a level of spite he hadn’t seen in the other before. But his face relaxed again as he continued on. “It would be nice to have family that accepts me as well. They seem...kind. Joseph said he’d ask the other’s to write to me too. He’s also mentioned I’d be welcome there, if I ever felt like moving. I’ve honestly been thinking about it. Atlanta is too tempting now. A change might be good for me.”

He could understand the sentiment. He hadn’t really had family that accepted him either. He had been surprised when he came out to his aunt and she hadn’t laughed in his face. But they hadn’t gotten closer by any means. She’d cared more about him in his life than his mother had though. But the subject changed and he was happy to let it. “Sounds like it’d be good for you. Where’s he live?” Maybe it’d be closer to him, though he wouldn’t say that out loud. He didn’t want to influence John for his own benefit.

John grinned slowly before lifting his head to look in his eyes. “That’s the thing...he has land in Montana.” Sharky’s heart stopped briefly and he couldn’t stop himself from grinning like an idiot.

“Well for the sake of being honest...I wouldn’t mind that. But I mean, don’t do anything for me. You need to put you first.” He had thought about moving himself if the other had asked. Of course he had. But he hadn’t asked where the other lived, but they only just acknowledged their feelings. Any time sooner would have made him feel like he was being creepy. 

“I could get my own land, build my own practice from the ground up, and my own house...maybe a ranch house with an airstrip of my own…” He hummed quietly, dramatically stroking that well trimmed beard of his in mock thought.

He could play along, continuing where the other left off. “Maybe it could have a fire pit on the deck...perfect for watching the stars as the crickets sing?”

John’s eyes softened as the other looked up at him and he smiled down at him in return as he lifted a hand to his cheek to brush his thumb just under his eye. “Maybe it could...I’ll admit, your smile makes me want to do it more than I already was.”

“Don’t let me influence your decision now.” He didn’t want to be a regret, and he didn’t want the other to suffer in any way.

“You influence every choice I make now, Charlemagne.” His voice was firm as he spoke, rising to climb into his lap and press their foreheads together. “I love you. I know it’s technically too soon but…”

“It feels like you’ve known me your whole life?” He laughed as he said it, not in a hurtful way. He just knew it sounded cliche because he had had the same thought several times before.

“Exactly.” The laughter returned told him he understood without him having to explain.

“Must be the whole soulmate thing.” He was waiting impatiently for them to finish the discussion--his lips were right there, and he wanted to kiss him so bad.

“It most likely does have something to do with that.” John danced just out of his reach, no matter how he tilted his head to try and catch his lips.

“Then I don’t feel stupid saying I’ve loved you since I first saw you.” Speaking was hard honestly, what with the way his mind was wandering.

“Charlemagne...you never sound stupid.” That did it. He managed to catch John’s lips, and he kissed him until he couldn’t breathe. And they continued that way until they each faded away to the real world once more.

Waking up felt less bitter each time.


	6. Chapter 6

The dreams started coming more frequently but it took longer than either of them planned for John to complete the move. He not only wanted a house built, he wanted his own practice, and he was getting to know his lost family along the way. But when they met in their dreams, John had more stories to share and his smile grew more genuine with every greeting. It was going well, and Sharky was happy for him. 

A trade off in the time it took to move was they figured out how their bond worked more. The closer they fell asleep the more time they had. The more open they were to seeing the other the more frequent the dreams. And another, the closer they were in the real world--the more a dream was guaranteed. Any time John was in Montana, he saw him every single night.

Currently they were curled up on the dream couch again, John leaning back against his chest as he spoke on the final adjustments to his office that led into a tangent defending his want to still work in law as if Sharky would ever really debate it. Instead, he kissed right behind John’s ear as his rambling slowly trailed off and he gave a quiet hum instead.

“I’m sorry. I just cannot work on that ranch. I’ll help out but it is in no way a full time thing for me. The thought sends chills up my spine.” His voice was a low rumble full of amusement. He was only partly serious, after all. The knowledge made him smile stupidly at his boyfriend. “I have no idea how Jake does it.”

He froze. Gears were turning and already he’d known he had done something dumb. He knew Jake Seed-- _Jacob Seed._ He’d worked for him recently. He also knew of Joseph Seed, and unfortunately what his aunt would do to him if she ever got a hold of him. He had prayed for the man’s safety after he’d heard that--after a very long shower in an attempt to cleanse his own soul. That meant that house being built past Fall’s End was John’s house. John was moving to Hope County. He hadn’t put together the pieces because he didn’t ask for the information--he was gifted it, and he held onto it for himself like a dragon hoarding treasure. He never knew the true value of what he possessed; it was his and that was enough. “You’re moving to Hope County.” He was grinning as he blurted the fact out. Slowly the other turned around to look at him, that rare sheepish look returning again.

“Well...yes.” John’s eyes broke contact and he was confused immediately. Was he not supposed to guess? “I wasn’t trying to keep it from you. I wanted more time to know you before I asked you out on a date in the real world where I may be less charming than I am in literal dreams.” He was keeping his voice low and Sharky almost laughed in humble agreement. He would have done the same--delay the potential for embarrassment because maybe even after all this time-- _what if he was wrong?_ But John kept explaining. “Which, in retrospect...is a little fucked up maybe.” Instead, he kissed John’s temple before leaning back.

“Hey, no...I wasn’t even thinking about that so don’t worry about it. I’da done it too.” He waved his hand, before pausing to just grin at him. “Man, I was just excited as a motherfucker--wait, you said ask me out?” And then he was stumped again. He hadn’t...he hadn’t done that. He didn’t know what to do now that he had pointed it out-- _why had he pointed it out?!_

“Of course.” John snorted, as if his doubt was absurd and it eased his anxiety in a heartbeat. This was John, he didn’t have to worry about that with John. “I call you my boyfriend already as well as the very fact that you are my soulmate. Why wouldn’t I take you out and show you off?” That made him blush and this time he ducked his gaze away.

“Alright. Cool.” He was mumbling but he was smiling as he nodded his agreement. “Yeah, I’m cool with that.”

“I’ll have to meet your family.” If he didn’t know any better, he’d think that was a threat.

“I’m less cool with that.” He grunted, grinning like an idiot now as he played along with the joke. “Aunt Addie will eat you alive, and you will kill Uncle Hurk. I’m not too worried about that second part though, you’re a lawyer and you know shit people shouldn’t just know.”

“That is...very true. I’m sure I can’t evade them forever anyhow--small county. No need to rush. You’ll at least have to meet my family.” John conceded and let the topic change, and this one he could easily agree with. He was very interested in the people John held so close to him now. 

“I’ve met Jake--um, Jacob. He gave me a look that almost made me shit my pants when I called him Jake. I got a job out at the ranch helping with a fence and a really stubborn bull. Said he had the funds and he needed someone to watch his back--Faith’s too flighty, she doesn’t want to hurt it and Joseph barely knows how to stay in a saddle.” He offered what he knew immediately. He would be terrible under any kind of questioning. “People talk to me and I listen. When they don’t talk, I do. I don’t make the rules. But yeah he seems put together. Quiet though.” John just laughed before finally settling with his back against his chest again.

“You have to get to know him. Then he never shuts up.” The words were said so softly and he immediately remembered all of John’s stories about Jacob. He didn’t have memories of them in particular, but he had feelings and instincts. He said the moment Jacob said his name he’d felt safe. It had taken time to trust that it was true, but he trusted Jacob completely now. “Ask him about the horses if you work with him again. It always gets him going, no matter who he’s talking to.”

“I’ll remember to do that.” And he would too, because telling John about it would earn him another bright smile. It made him think of a sun shining through the clouds, his eyes the bright skies of summer. And he’d jump through actual fire to keep that look on the other’s face as often as possible. Love was weird.

They trailed off into another comfortable pause, each of them tracing their fingers along the other’s arms. He eventually wrapped an arm around John’s shoulders while he idly played with his hair. They stayed like that for a long moment before John spoke up again. “So...where do we want to go on our date?” That was a hard question to answer.

“I mean...there’s not much to do here, I’m not gonna lie.” Sharky liked his little county but you had to be creative with your fun.

“We could go flying?” John’s voice was hopeful but he suppressed a shudder.

“That’s a...that’s a second date thing. Maybe.” He trusted that John was a good pilot but he preferred his feet on the ground still. He’d have to work up to that but he would try his hardest. He offered another option instead. “We can go to the Spread Eagle. It’s a bar but they serve food at least. And now I’m allowed back in there again.” He felt the question burning the tip of the other’s tongue and he answered before it was even asked. “There was an incident, involving a lot of tequila and some fire. But it wasn’t a lot of fire and it wasn’t going to be, I know what I’m doing. It just left a mark on the counter for a really long time.”

John said nothing before giving something that was almost a giggle. “You also know things people shouldn’t just know.” The statement was vague, but he appreciated that John brought it back around. He loved how the other understood how his thoughts worked.

“That’s why you love me.” He responded only after he ducked down and stole a kiss on the other’s cheek. He laughed in his arms and turned around to steal a kiss on his lips and Sharky tugged him in against him.

“One of many reasons.” He confessed against his lips, and Sharky tried to swallow the rest of his words with another kiss before finally conceding and letting him finish. “So Friday night then, let’s say eight, at the Spread Eagle? I’ll meet you there.”

“It’s a date.” He agreed quickly, kissing him and immediately pulling in against him as his hands trailed up the other’s shirt without hesitation.

He didn’t have time yet to worry about if he could manage to do this outside of their dreams, about if he would fumble over his words and thoughts. He already knew John wouldn’t mind if he did.


	7. Chapter 7

It was a big day. Actually, it was _the_ big day. Friday, a week after John had settled into his new home and he knew where things were. And it was the day he was supposed to meet him at the Spread Eagle, wide awake at eight o’clock. He was surprisingly nervous. There had been some sort of safety filter in the dreams, and convincing himself it extended into reality was proving very hard to do.

It was always easy to give in to the doubt. He’d never been on a date before in his life and he had no frame of reference for how he should look or behave, or what might be a giveaway that it was going downhill fast. He was imagining nightmare scenarios again as he showered and trimmed up his goatee and debated about what cap to where as if every minuscule decision would affect anything at all. He frequently held it back with the memory of John telling him he loved him. He loved him, and this wouldn’t be any different. The peace would last maybe ten minutes before the anxiety creeped back up his spine but he relished the memory of those words each time he conjured them to fight it off. And he kept at it instead of giving up this time. By the time he stepped out his door, it was already easier to keep his cool.

He smoked a couple cigarettes on the drive to calm his nerves. It was a minute for him travelwise so he left with the goal to get there early. Never knew what could happen; this time it was nothing and so he arrived with spare time on his hands. He figured he’d go in and grab a table, maybe get a drink that he would drag out while he waited. There was a brief flash of fear that the other wouldn’t show up as he stood in front of the entrance, but he swallowed it and stepped inside anyway. _’Good things happen, Charlemagne.’_

The loud music and chorus of happy voices was almost jarring but insanely comforting. He had missed coming here. He immediately caught Mary May’s eyes from the moment the door shut though and he gave an awkward smile. This was her bar, and he started a contained fire in it. He maybe deserved that look, so he made himself walk over meekly. Maybe he just wanted to torture himself a little, but he spoke to her in a soft yell over the sounds around them. “Hey Mary May...I don’t mean no trouble. I uh, I’ve got a date.”

She looked him up and down for a long moment, nodding after a minute. He wondered what she saw but he took the strained forgiveness--he didn’t believe in looking a gift horse in the mouth, whatever that actually meant. “A date, huh...do I know her?”

“Nah, probably not.” He smiled after a minute. “He’s new to the county. John Seed?”

“No shit? I’ve heard of him. But if he’s related to the Seeds, I’ll know him when I see him.” She turned around and retrieved a beer, opening the bottle as she handed it to him. “Go sit down. I’ll point you out when he walks in.”

“Thanks.” He was quiet as he took the drink. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Consider it me being neighborly. Just don’t set any fires this time, and I don’t mind your company in the bar Sharky.” Any other time and that jab might’ve hurt him, but this time he could see the humor in her smile. He wasn’t looking for the bad anymore, and it was making him realize how it probably never existed to begin with.

He didn’t say more, just lifted his beer towards her as he moved to grab an empty table and waited. He had maybe twenty minutes to wait, and that’s if John was on time. He struck Sharky as a ‘fashionably late’ type and if he was right it would just make him smile. But he made himself listen to the music and stay out of his head, and the time flew by faster than he could have ever expected. He looked to the clock behind the bar and saw it was time, and his eyes turned to the door. But he didn’t want to watch the door so he turned his attention to Mary May. And he found at he was wrong this time.

She looked up to the door maybe thirty seconds after his eyes fell on her, and she offered a smile before she pointed his way. His heart stopped before it began thundering so hard he thought all of the bar could hear it pulsing over everything. The crowd seemed to part for him and John came into view. He was already smiling before the other had reached him and he stood to pull a chair out for him. 

“Hey,” he began, John stopping his breath momentarily as he took Sharky’s hands in his and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. The gesture brought a smile to his lips immediately. “How was--how was the drive? Any trouble?”

“No trouble. It’s oddly peaceful on the roads, especially after having spent most of my life in big cities. Is it weird that that’s what I’ll have to get used to--easy traffic?” John talked as he took the offered seat, laughing quietly. _’Is it weird that this is what I have to get used to--easy feelings?’_

“I would lose my mind in the city. Well, I’d be fine for a couple of nights. But that’s too much for every day.” He grinned at John as a waitress stopped by with menus. He didn’t even know this place had menus or waitresses and the realization made him laugh to himself.

“Well, I suppose I did lose my mind in the city. But I’m finding more of myself every day. And I found you along the way.” It was a vulnerable statement and somehow he knew to respect what that took him. He nodded, smiling his own understanding.

“I could say the same.”

They ordered and ate, easy conversation passing between them as the night went on. Things were slowing down around them as time ceased existing for them in their own bubble. It was just like when they slept, flowing between subjects so fluidly and evenly as they each slowly creeped closer to each other until he was tracing his fingertips along John’s arm. They got up and John insisted on paying--he would have brought a gift but he didn’t know what to bring yet, so this would have to do--and they left the bar to take a walk down the quiet streets. They weren’t drunk and belligerent so no one would mind the couple walking in the moonlight.

He reached for John’s hand immediately, satisfied when the other met him halfway and laced their fingers together. He led him along as they shared secrets in the soothing silence offered up in the shimmering starlight. He had never felt more safe than when he did now, walking beside his soulmate. Why had he ever been scared of this? He wanted this to be the rest of his life; he never wanted to be anywhere else for the rest of their shared eternities, even when they became stardust and diamonds in the grand scheme of the cosmos. That was the prize in the end, everything else they accomplished on the wiy were just blessings. Oh, he loved this man.

They made a lap around town and back to the bar, whose lights were mostly out and the music had died down considerably. They kept going until they stopped at John’s truck--still new and shiny, and he had to bite back a laugh. He was like a peacock, just trying so hard when he didn’t need to. Instead he let himself be brave, and he pushed John back against that shiny new truck and lifted his hand to tilt his jaw and kiss him. His eyes fell shut the moment their lips touched and he swore he saw fireworks going off as electricity sizzled between them. They had kissed before but this time felt like they had somehow sealed an unspoken promise between them. _Forever._

His hands slid down the other to tug at his waist, and John’s hands slid up to knock his cap from his head as he parted his lips and let the other slip his tongue past his teeth with an embarrassingly loud moan he didn’t linger on. He decided to just get lost in the moment, only letting himself break away from it when they had to surface for air. He rested his forehead against John’s as they caught their breath in shallow gasps and soft laughs. “How about we go back to your place?”

A joyous laugh burst from John’s mouth and he nodded vigorously. “Yes, absolutely. Immediately, if possible.” His fingers were pulling at Sharky’s belt loops and he could feel the other’s urgency. He knew he was blushing and he didn’t give a single fuck.

“We can make that happen. You wanna drive?” He pushed back against John, teasing him as he stepped back and left John to dig through his pockets almost frantically for his keys. 

He was met with laughter as his John confirmed his guess. “You know me so well.” He was looking furiously and his frustration wasn’t helping. He was just as desperate, willing him to find them faster and both of them were washed with relief when he fished them out and got the car open.

“You’d be fidgety as fuck in the passenger seat. My attention span could not handle that, not when I’m also thinking about that kiss.” He opened his door and leaned against the frame as the other climbed in and started the engine. He looked to Sharky with unadulterated lust and determination and it made his knees weak.

“Get in the truck, Charlemagne.” He laughed but he couldn’t argue, and he climbed in quickly.

This right here forever. That sounded nice. That sounded perfect actually. He liked the sound of that. It didn’t take as much convincing this time around.

It had taken him so long and he had lived through so much in his life to feel like he deserved anything good. But he deserved this, especially if it meant John smiled like he was on this car ride forever. If he got to wake up next to him and watch John bloom into himself slowly like his own version of a miracle, his happiness was almost coincidental to him. He got to witness magic when the other looked at him and he would accept the gift he was given for the pain. They had both earned this happiness.

He stayed the night in his arms and it was the easiest he’d slept in his life, and this time there was no sadness when he woke up because they were both still there. He cried silent happy tears when he woke up and John’s head was next to his on the pillows. It was still real. He was still there.

And over time he got used to it, and it didn’t take long until he moved into the house John had built for them both around the life they had talked about making together. He adjusted to the fact that John came home at night and he always listened when he asked about his day. He understood trust and learned what unconditional love meant along with John. It helped that they were learning it together. His anxiety became easier to understand and ward off with someone to talk to, and he didn’t mean just John.

Along with his eventual husband, he gained a family. They had welcomed him readily, and it had almost been overwhelming. They had their own ways of taking care of him and he learned them over time. John had been right, once Jacob knew you he never shut up. But he asked for Sharky’s help more and more around the ranch as he gained his trust and there was pride to be had in that. And the eldest Seed always had the best advice for literally anything. Faith was kind and never asked why him why he was there, instead feeding him and talking about how her garden was coming along. She provided distractions until you could say what you needed to. She sent him off with vegetables and herbs for John to use almost every visit he paid her. Joseph was harder to get used to. He was keen to talk about feelings, and that had been a journey in itself. Sharky was still learning to understand his own, but he appreciated the outside opinion and constant encouragement the other gave freely. And if you ever needed a hug, he gave the best.

He also learned to accept that his own family cared about him; namely his aunt and his cousin. They loved him, it just wasn’t shown conventionally. And that was okay. He felt bad it had taken him so long to see it though, but he was sure they understood. He did eventually introduce them to John and his family. It had been an interesting BBQ to say the least. 

He finally felt happy, and it felt earned. He felt good. And he wouldn’t change anything that had happened to him if it meant he missed out on this. He loved and was loved.

And it was amazing.


End file.
